Kucherov: Two-Time NHL MVP
Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov Secures Second Consecutive NHL MVP Hart Trophy
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Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning has won the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP for the second time, edging Connor McDavid in the closest vote in more than two decades. Associated Press reported the award was announced June 11, prior to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.
Kucherov finished the 2025-26 regular season with 130 points on 44 goals and 86 assists, good for a league-best 1.71 points per game NHL.com. McDavid won the scoring title with 138 points but fell just 10 voting points short in the Hart race — the narrowest margin since 2001-02, according to NHL Trade Talk.
A Season-Long Comeback That Defined the Race
Tampa Bay started the year in rough shape, going 1-4-2 in their first seven games TampaBayLightning.com. Kucherov then caught fire. He racked up 104 points over a 50-game stretch from December through March — the best such run since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. Without Kucherov, analysts at TSN argued, the Lightning would likely have missed the playoffs entirely.
Kucherov's 130 points were 42 more than his next-closest teammate, Jake Guentzel. That gap was the largest of any Hart finalist this season, according to Associated Press. He also recorded a point in 60 of 76 games and put up 40 multi-point outings NHL.com.
Voting Numbers Show Just How Tight the Race Was
Kucherov earned 1,436 voting points and 72 first-place votes from members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. McDavid finished with 1,426 points. The 10-point gap was the closest since the 2001-02 season, per NHL Trade Talk. Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche finished third after leading the league with 53 goals.
For the first time since the current voting system was set up in 1995-96, all three finalists received at least 25% of first-place votes, according to NHL Public Relations. Coach Jon Cooper summed up the case for his star simply: "There are some fabulous players in this league, but for how valuable he is to the team... he's pretty darn important to us" NHL.com.
Value vs. Volume: Why Voters Picked Kucherov Over McDavid
The central debate this season was simple: does the MVP award go to the player with the most points, or the one most vital to his team? McDavid's 138 points were undeniably dominant. But voters leaned toward Kucherov's 1.71 points-per-game rate and the argument that he single-handedly kept Tampa Bay alive Sportsnet.
The outcome mirrored — and flipped — the 2023-24 season. That year, Kucherov led the league with 144 points but lost the Hart to MacKinnon. In 2026, McDavid led in points and Kucherov took the MVP, according to Raw Charge. Kucherov's reaction was brief and grateful: "Thanks for this honor. Just really grateful for my teammates, coaches, my family. This means a lot" NHL.com.
Kucherov Joins Elite Company With Second Hart Trophy
Kucherov first won the Hart in 2018-19. By winning again seven years later, he joins Jean Beliveau and Sidney Crosby as the only players to go seven or more years between Hart Trophy wins, per NHL Public Relations. He is now a two-time Hart winner, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, and a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner.
On October 25, 2025, Kucherov also hit 1,000 career NHL points, becoming the 101st player in league history to reach that mark NHL.com. He also holds the record for the most points in a single season by a Russian-born player (144 in 2023-24) and is now the only Russian player to win the Hart Trophy more than once, according to Wikipedia.
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